The first bits of the Santa Ana winds are licking at our mountaintop, and that reminds us admins that it is Winter Time. Last weekend, the holiday season kicked off with a celebration of lights. Furry event organizers from all over SoCal have more in store for you during the coldest months, and sometimes giving you the opportunity for celebrating the holidays.

1st Edition. We will update this as more winter/holiday events are submitted.

Saturday, December 9th:Holiday Furmeet(Orange County)
Gather in the park for a holiday gathering in the park. Share fun, food and maybe a game of frisbee. This event is pretty close to where Group Area 3 (home of the FurBQ!) is, so just make sure to keep going along the road.

December 9th & 16th:Fursuit Photoshoot (Santa Barbara County)
Out with pumpkin patches… in with the Christmas Tree farm. Blue Hasia has found a great spot for some holiday photo hijinks.

Saturday, December 9th: Prancing Skiltaire (Orange County)
Holiday fun at the original furry party house. The house is packed with furry but there is always room for more during the holidays. The annual gift exchange will begin around 9pm.

Sunday, December 10th:Ontario Fur Christmas Meet (San Bernardino County)
This is a holiday potluck so be sure to bring a tasty dish. Possible Secret Santa or gift exchange, so contact Necropsy if you are thinking about some gifting folly

December 16th and 30th:Redlands Furmeet (San Bernardino County)
The regular Redlands Furmeet is getting a bit of holiday spirit. Our casual meets for December are about gathering for some holiday joy.

December 23rd:OC Fur Meet “Seasons Greetings” (Orange County)
There may not be snow on the ground, but there is plenty of holiday cheer. This monthly meet will be breaking out for the holidays with food and activities at the park. Gift exchange so please bring something to get in on the fun.

January 19th through 21st:Big Bear Ski Weekend (San Bernardino County)
For all of you snowbirds (whether you have a bird fursona or just like the snow), get in on this. They will be staying at one the resorts (to be announced), so get in touch with the organizer to book your lodgings close-by.

The signs of fall are here but I admit it kind of snuck up on me. Really, October waits for no one. Among restoration of our event galleries, we also had a good helping of new events to add to our calendar. Within that mix, there were more than just a couple events geared towards Halloween folly…

October 28th:OC Fur Meet (Orange County)
The monthly meet for Orange County encourages a Halloween spirit. Come frolic with the OC Furs and make costumed mischief in the park!

October 28th:Riverside Ghost Walk (Riverside County)
Follow the bouncy tail of a lion, and he will lead you on a night of frolicing in Downtown Riverside. People come to the nearby Mission Inn for the ghost tour and there will be nightlife to terrorize with cute fluffiness.

October 31st:Halloween Spooktacular Festival Fur Walk (Los Angeles County)
Family friendly trick or treating event in the Montrose Shopping Park. Fursuits are encouraged (but please keep props and costumes to PG13 rating) to come out trick-or-treating. Free to attend (but you will get hungry). Make sure to bring water for braving the crowds.

The Inland Empire Furry Association (IEFA) had moved its "downtown meet" over to an area west of downtown riverside, and took a walk after enjoying coffee. Fursuiters were encountered at the local bark park and walkway area.

FurBQ is SoCal Furs' annual barbecue and picnic, hosted by Stego S. Aurus and organized by Kat. Furries attend from all over Southern California, meeting and making conversation. Fursuiters can play in the nearby grassy fields, among people playing sports. Hang with us in Irvine Regional Park.

Sometimes when you find something that is so much fun…. you just gotta bring a friend (or two… or three…). The sheer experience of organizing something this big for this many people is astounding. With a few breaths taken, we have our post-FurBQ report..

Everything is due for a change, and our event is no exception. Our day began with both cars packed and loaded. Turned out, one more friend needed the ride this year. Undeterred by the early schedule, Kat reached their house around 4:45. She actually ended up getting there before Stego. She wasn’t even the first to arrive. Lo and behold, there were at least 3 other people in the parking lot near our reserved area. Within minutes someone had donned a fursuit. You guys are arriving earlier and earlier!

A patient grillmaster…

Signs went up where possible, with a few additions from the year before. Easels were placed at the front and back of the site, displaying helpful guidelines for our event, our donor list, and of course we added the orange “Tripping Hazard” signs for safety. We also placed some more humorous signs on our trees to encourage mindfulness. Contributions of food, sodas and ice were trickling in. By the time Stego arrived we had a small pile going. Leo had also come to set up his own grilling area. He even made pancakes!

When fellow fur Ubervoop arrived, we were in for a surprise. Presented to us was a colorful banner for SoCal Furs, Kat and Stego’s community website that posts local furry events. Featured was a stegosaurus cooking, along with Tamerlaine and Noah in different poses. We were so surprised at how snazzy it looked and we think other people enjoyed it as well.

The day began to fly as Stego began the first rounds of burgers. Kat spent tim between the picnic area, the side field areas and the parking lot. Chance and the San Diego furs arrived just before the lot really got full, a big brand new changing tent in tow. Once the two tents were up, it wasnt long before people were using that to change, no more need to do it in the parking lot. Kat was happy to have a place to direct suiters to, and the tent was in full swing practically all day.

The weather was quite the happy medium on FurBQ day, which meant alot of people were suiting up. With the given time of 3pm for the group shot, early afternoon started to be where we could really see our peak population (around 185 people on site at once), with many all suited up and being herded by a happy Chance Dragon.

It seemed like in a blink, afternoon turned to evening. We began doing our end-times trash detail around 5:45pm. Trashclaws came out and I brought out the rake to get all the small fiddly bits. As we neared our 9pm “clear out” deadline, we did find a few odds and ends left that didn’t look like stuff meant to be trashed. Yup, another “lost and found” gallery for this year. Check it out if you have something missing. We got quite the mix.

We Thank You All (Important Notes Below)

All day, Stego and Kat ran into friends — both those returning for another FurBQ and for people we had not seen in forever. Seems our event is about getting that mix of old and new connections, with about 225 total seen throughout the day. As the event grows, we consider things we can do to improve.

Dividing of the food supply created inconsistencies and made it hard to estimate what we had plenty of (vs what we ran out of). Maybe if we had someone to just handle receiving food contributions, we could get things more equally divided among the 2 front grilling areas (to the left where Stego was and the bigger area that Leo was using)

Parking — Our group is quite large and that means we need to be responsible on how we park. I know people dont like walking from other lots but, we cannot just make our own spots. Rangers were coming by to enforce orderly parking. While there were other cars (from other groups) parking illegally, I caught a few of our people doubling up on parking spaces. Others were trying to save space by parking at angles, despite any lines drawn out by the park. Kat did attempt to address the issue but was met with a bit of an attitude. Seriously guys… lets be better about this, and be kind to our neighbors.

2017 brought some extra uninvited guests — bees, yellow jackets and wasps. We are certain that a hive was nearby, finding one possible source from the ground Sadly, the person that usually brings a recycle bin with a lid didn’t show up so the sticky tops of soda bottles were hard for them to resist. There were enough of our flying friends that the simple act of having an open soda can could attract them.
People attending definitely noticed the amount of them. Atop that, we did find one contributing factor — “bee bombs” . A napkin was placed upon a paper plate with sweet tasting food on it. Then soda was poured on it, the napkin soaking it up. We would like to think this was someone’s ill placed intention to attract the bees/yellow jackets away from the site, but the placement of these was far too close to areas where lots of people are. One was even found just next to the changing tent. Kat and the help of a “bee whispering” friend allowed us to delicately take care of the soaked plates, but it definitely was an unhappy experience. We hope this does not become a thing and now our staff has one extra thing we have to look out for during next year. If you know anything about this behavior, please reach out to us.

With those tidbits out of the way, here are some photos showing the fun that can be had at SoCal Furs’ annual FurBQ.

More can be seen in the FurBQ 2017. Special thanks to Mesic Fox for providing some of the pictures.

There are some awesome photographers at our event, so if you want more furry photos, check out:

Labor Day has given way for rainstorms (yes… in August) and it has drawn us inside. While we have been cooped up, we have begun the annual “crunch time for FurBQ”. Stego and Kat have been looking over supplies, making lists and otherwise keeping track of all that awaits us in 3 weeks. We got the reservation, and a budget for meat (and starter items for our early crowd), and we are almost ready to go

… however, we have decided to do some rearranging of our space within our rented group area (Group Area 3). Please look at our updated calendar entry, which gives all information about our event and includes info about our FREE grilling areas for those that like to get proactive about cooking good food.

Regarding other events, we have been checking in with organizers and our September and October months have gotten some returning events, as well as some modifications. Please check out the calendar to see all the updates.

Making New Connections

If you havent yet connected, check out the SoCal Furs Network (as well as in our sidebar) to find the network that works best for you. One addition is that we now have a Facebook page. In working within our community, and with some patience for Facebook itself, we can now get the information flowing there. Its only a simple page right now, but we are using it as a way to gather Facebook event postings from things that appear on our calendar.

SoCal Furs has always had our vixen Tamerlaine as our official mascot. However, we ran this contest so we could have a counterpart. Noah (design by Yeep!) was chosen and so we have worked it into our material.

Noah the Mountain Lion by Yeep!

Noah the Mountain Lion by Yeep!

This is our Contest Winner!!

From the artist, Yeep!:I chose the mountain lion because of their large presence in California; they're also pretty cool cats. :) I wanted my character to really reflect the laid back California lifestyle; this is shown through his clothing and longboard! I also wanted his color palette to compliment Tamerlaine's. When he isn't DJing, Noah can be found cruising through the city streets on his longboard or enjoying the huge variety of culinary delights (hello, Taiwanese hot pots!) found here.

From the artist, Teskine:So, Tomas is a California Leaf-Nosed Bat, which is very obviously a species native to California, especially SoCal. Named with a slight Latin flare, as much of SoCal shares, just as much as the species of bat itself which is also common to Mexico. I choose a native bat last-minute after rooting through multiple other species because they're a huge presence in our state, but often overlooked or taken for granted.

Tomas is a very energetic, outdoors-loving type into a large variety of sports. Surfing, hiking, skating, etc. You name it, he's game for it. This is of course because SoCal is almost eternally sunny, so you can enjoy being active year-round. He'd probably give Tamerlaine a run for her money... quite literally. I imagine them having a fairly competitive friendship.

The scene doesn't die down when the sun sets for Tomas, however. Like most residents of SoCal, he enjoys the opportunity for the night life. Whether it be clubbing or moonlit walks (or flits) he's always up to something interesting.

He'd also be able to be drawn with wings on his back alternatively for when it be needed.

From the artist, BG Arts:I thought I'd do a desert creature since I'm from there! Also thought I'd give him a skateboard as I always think of Southern California young males on skateboards on their off time.

Ethan is not impressed easily. He's seen it all. He might have done whatever crazy thing that you think is so "extreme!" and lived to tell the tale. Sure, he's had more than his share of broken bones and gotten in trouble more times than he can count, but hell, he had the time of his life doing it.

Picture from background was taken by the dorms of UCR a few years ago by myself.

Bio from artist, -Mike-:I was born in Fountain Valley, California and live in Long Beach, California. Right now I am majoring in Sports Medicine and work as an EMT (Emergency Medical Tech); although I am working and going to school I have time to hang with friends and take an occasional trip to the beach. My favorite beach is Huntington Beach with its amazing pier and delicious restaurants, as well as its usual surfing competition.Some of my hobbies are Fishing, Swimming, Surfing, Hanging with friends, Reading, and don't forget about napping in the warm sand. Fishing, Swimming, and Surfing has always been with me since I was born with my mom being an expert fisherfur and my father being a champ at Surfing; my love for them just grew throughout the years.When I was in my teen days I broke my arm from losing control while I was surfing and smashed into a pier's pillar. Ever since then I dedicated myself to learning more about Medicine and felt that sports medicine was a great choice for me. As for EMT, I took a ROP (Regional Occupation Program) in high school and enjoyed interacting with all the people I meet.I guess I am pretty social and I love the attention I get from it as well. It is always nice to have people around and I'm just happy that people enjoy my company.I never had any issues with fears, Since I am lucky enough to live in California, the weather here is pretty tame to an extent so I really have nothing to fear physically.

From the artist, Blue Maned Wolf:My entry for the SoCal Furries male mascot contest! Fun little tips about Clayton, Sabre Tooth Cat is the state fossil, and those orange Poppies are the state flower, but I'm sure you guys already knew that.

He rides a long board to help match his speed against Tamerlaine and her biking habits. Although I'm more than sure he probably can't beat her on the bike trails.

From the artist, Rokemi:I wanted to make a character that would compliment the already existing female fox mascot with a California native coyote. To me he reflects the modern South Californian, and i think hes a massive cutie.

From the artist, Aurora Wolf:Here's another mountain lion for ya! I don't have a name for this guy (how about another contest?), but I imagine he's an entrepreneur of some sort, or maybe he's got a job in the film industry. He has an average build and typical cougar coloration. He enjoys taking advantage of all the outdoor recreation opportunities California has to offer, but he's also happy chilling with his friends (and Tamerlaine). He's a laid back cat with a taste for adventure!

From the artist, Read-the-Wind:Oooh I had so much fun making this!!! His name is Diego Angelo because of the two most iconic cities of SoCal happen to be San Diego and Los Angelos. Also it sounds very suave and sexy! I think having such a name is also a good representation of our SoCal cultural demographics.

Diego likes to do all sorts of outdoor sports! He enjoys mountain climbing (see his little rope?), hiking, surfing, and skateboarding. He works as a life guard and makes sure that people at the beach are having a good time and also staying safe. I wanted him to be part coast and part mountains. I think it's easy to forget that SoCal has a very diverse landscape.

His fur is brown and gray and he has a California star tattoo on his left arm. He enjoys wearing sappy island print shorts and tank tops.

Of course he loves to pa-a-a-a-r-tay! His friends describe him as "one chill dude".

From the artist:Miguel is modeled after a California Grizzly Bear.He is Mexican-American, third generation to live in California, second to be born, his grandparents having been the ones to have immigrated here. He grew really close to both of his grandparents, them being his and his sister's caregivers while his mom worked.Now, at age 24, of his two, grandparents, only his grandma lives.He is a college drop out, though he has managed to raise in the ranks in the Carl's Jr. franchise, nonetheless, he is reconsidering going back into school as a business major.

Some of his favorite hobbies include working out, he likes to keep himself in shape, and quite healthy (rather picky with his food, only the finest of salmon for him, or no salmon at all). He is rather extroverted, and much of his friends aren't really friends except for a selected few whom have known him for year (and are the only ones that have really witness him and his love for his grandma). Aside from that, he is a generally caring person to those whom are nice to him, though he is definitely not afraid to pick a fight if you catch him on a bad day.

>Some information on his design.All of his fur is of the same brown color with some darker fur around the joint areas (as in elbows, shoulders, knees) as well as his neck fluff, and his hair and ears.He has a lighter color on his muzzle, eyebrows and around his eyes.His nails are an offset cream white.His eyes are the same color as his hair.Upside-down sort of pear shape, not really as curvy. Big beefy arms are a must though. 'Cause... Do U Even Lift Bro?MUST be plantigrade.

From the artist, Gargoyale:His name is Sunny the Sea Lion. Being that the first time people think of for California is the beaches, it only feels right that the animal to represent our socalness would be something aquatic. It was between a California Sea Lion and an Otter. I decided to go with Sea Lion because they're not as popular, and maybe a bit more unique to SoCal (I see them a lot more than I do otters) so yeah, a little more unique I think :)

Gave him some dark hair--perhaps he's of hispanic decent--which is a good chunk of californians! And he'll likely be some nice darker/tanner browns since obviously we californians have nice tans from being in the sweet sun all day XD (ok not really but still) He's a lil chubby! Because why not, and I think it'll help contrast our female mascot to have a lil tubbiness on the dude, and plus those squishy neck rolls will be SO fun.

I imagine he enjoys bodyboarding (surfings a bit /to/ sterotypical to me. So why not boogieboarding) Oh! And the orange necklace is for Orange County :)

From the artist, ThatCrazyDragonDog:Here is Bayer the bear, my entry for the SoCal Furs mascot contest! He is loosely based on the California state flag ( hence being a brown bear and bearing the red star) while also holding an interesting design that i thought would go well with Tamerlaine and be identifiable.

From the artist, Clockwork Coon:I wanted a name that would flow well with Tamerlaine, (the already existing female mascot) so I thought "Trent" would work perfectly. Also, because Tamerlaine is beachy and athletic, I wanted them to contrast rather than have the same personality and interests. (After all, California is huge! There's more than just beaches.) He's a California Grizzly Bear, which, to my knowledge, is extinct... but does he care? Nope!

He's a complete bro. He's a party animal. He's that guy in college that chugged a literal barrel of root beer, and he was the same guy who stole that barrel in the first place. He never grew up and he likes it that way.He likes to brag about how he's a total stud, but in truth, he gets weak in the knees around cute people. Set aside all of his douchey antics, it doesn't take eyes to see that he's just a lonely guy that tries way too hard to impress the wrong people.

His favorite drinks are a tie between Monster and Arizona Iced Tea, root beer when he's feeling extra dangerous.

From artist, The Incredible Crocodile:His name is "Gus" but his friends call him "Gatsby" because he dresses so laid back and has a relaxing personality. While growing up, he loved disney films. His favorite were "Beauty and the Beast", "Little Mermaid", and "The Great Mouse Detective".

As a child, he was very shy but more or less a very tall kid. That is until he met Tamberlaine in 7th grade while being in the same Math class. You couldn't see Gus walking around without Tamberlaine right next to him. They were good friends, they both loved cartoons and other interests. Of course Gus didn't have any interest of a relationship beyond friends. As soon as Highschool ended they went their separate ways, but during his second semester in college he found her in his Drawing: Life class.

Once again the friends re-united as they both began to draw to become cartoonists. As Gus was inspired by many disney films, he himself wanted to work for Disney to help make a masterpiece. He currently is in college at his Second Semester.

Of course everyone kept hinting Gus to be with Tamberlaine but Gus didn't want to harm his friendship with her.--

Personality: He's rather shy, but will become very talkative if you attach a topic that he loves a lot. He loves to make others happy, so mostly his jokes will make you bust your gut laughing. He's very caring of others and does so to protect them if there's any issues. Sometimes goofy, but can be serious if he has to. He does have a gut, but is working to keep it at a muscle gut or trying to lose the weight to impress Tamberlaine.

For Califur, he is cosplaying as Professor Ratigan and having a mixture of Great Gatsby to it.

Tail! is So Cal’s permanent nightclub event. Similar to the trailblazing parties Frolic and Foxtrot), we want this to be an expressive, open event, (so yes you CAN bring your leather/ rubber/ kink get-ups in[...]